Paper Stars
by Myra the Sark
Summary: Saving a girl from two kidnappers is easy. But things get weird when they learn she's the daughter of one of their enemies, whom they never would've guessed had a kid. But it seems Lyra has more of a story than even she knows... Read and Review, people! Reviews are my inspiration!


**Yeah, I re-wrote it. Different story...mostly. This is my first fic to take place in "Combat Chaos", after _Antithesis_. Don't expect Forge or the Strike Squad to appear until a few more episodes of them show, however. Namely because I still need to know the Irish guy's and the tall girl's names, and I'm hoping we'll see more of the SS's personalities. (Though I may settle with inventing...) ~Myra  
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Belisaere was the capitol of the Alappia region. It had been built more than a century ago on a plateau, with high walls encircling it. It kept its olden look throughout the years, but was just as high-tech as everywhere else simultaneously. It was famous for its library…and its ice-cream.

Currently Team Core-Tech was enjoying the latter before going to look at the former on Jeredy's request. They were between two benches on one of the walltop balconies. "Do you really think some library's gonna have a book on Monsuno Essence, Chase?" Bren asked, looking skeptical.

Jinja added, "As much as it pains me to say it, Bren has a point. If the library had it, STORM probably confiscated it."

"Dad said that Belisaere governor isn't on very good terms with STORM, though," Chase reasoned. "Hasn't been, actually. They wouldn't be able to take anything without someone knowing in the first place."

They still didn't look convinced. Then Chase saw that Beyal was looking at something on the road below. "What are you looking at, monkfish?" Dax asked.

Beyal simply pointed in response. Chase looked—and froze.

There were three people on the road below—one was a teenage girl with dark hair who was tied up and looked scared; that much he could tell, even from the distance. The other two were adults wearing strange suits that looked like armor—one wearing jet-black and the other wearing pure-white. And when Chase looked through one of the pairs of binoculars they had, he saw that the two adults had Eklipse cores.

He acted impulsively: he spun Evo out once he was sure no one else was around. "Chase?!" Bren shouted.

"I'll be back in a minute!" Chase replied, getting on the swan-eagle's back. "Evo, go!"

The Monsuno swooped down towards the people. The girl's eyes widened in shock, as did the two adults—the latter then spun out their cores. The Monsunos looked identical: wolves with saber-teeth, like Longfang.

About eight seconds after Evo landed, Mysticblade was right beside it, the others getting off to stand by their leader.

"Let her go, and we won't have to kick your tails," Chase warned.

The black-clad person chuckled. "I'm afraid we can't do that, little boy," he said. His voice had a strange accent.

"If you want the girl," the white-clad woman picked up, "You'll have to beat us." Their Monsunos both snarled.

Chase grinned. "I had a feeling you'd say that. Evo, Shock Wing!" His Monsuno took off, circled, and shot energy beams at the saberwolves—they both dodged it with ease.

"Blazefang, Magma Bullets!" the white-clad woman ordered. Her Monsuno shot multiple orbs of energy towards Mysticblade.

Beyal countered: "Medusa Glare!" The viper-wolf-falcon's eyes glew, and the orbs froze mid-air, dissipating. The woman's eyes widened—that was the only way Chase could tell she was shocked, as she and her accomplice were both wearing masks. "Shielded Whip!" Beyal followed up. This time the attack hit—right on Blazefang's head. The saberwolf staggered, allowing it to be struck again and again, until it finally went down, reverting into a red cloud of essence.

The black-clad man looked furious. "Flamefang, Hellfire Burst!" he shouted.

A flaming aura enveloped the Monsuno, and it shot a jet of black flames towards Evo—but a blast of electricity cut it off.

Confused, Chase looked to the side—and gasped in shock when he saw a STORM Monsuno, the girl that _had _been tied up standing beside it and holding its core.

The Monsuno looked like a fox mostly, except its tail was that or a porpoise's—the outer edge being wickedly bladed. It also had webbed paws, a few fins on its back head, and legs, and what looked like antennae, suggesting it had a smidgeon of some kind of insect in it. "Magnet Burst!" the girl followed up with. Chase frowned slightly—she sounded _really_ familiar for some weird reason.

Silvery-yellow orbs of plasmatic energy formed around the Monsuno. Then they shot towards Flamefang. The saberwolf _attempted_ to dodge…but the attack followed, hitting.

Chase picked up: "Evo, Lightning Bash!" The Core-Tech Monsuno swooped down low-altitude, and sailed right into Flamefang. Instant knockout.

The two kidnappers glared death at them before the man threw a metal canister onto the ground, which exploded in a flash of light and smoke. When they were able to look again, the two were gone.

With that, the three teens called their Monsunos back. Jinja was quick to round on the girl: "Why do you have a STORM Monsuno?!"

She replied after a moment: "I…_borrowed_ it."

"So you stole it," Dax clarified.

"Well, sorta."

Confusion rising, Chase asked, "Who are you, anyways?"

She looked at him, and said, "Lyra." One other important detail—she had amber eyes.

"Why were those oddly-dressed people attempting to abduct you?" Beyal asked.

At that, Lyra seemed a little hesitant. "Well…it might be because of who my mom is…"

Jinja interrupted. "Excuse us one moment," she said, dragging Chase over. "What if she's part of STORM?" she whispered.

"She said it herself—she stole that core," Chase retaliated—Lyra seemed friendly enough. And anyone that Klipse was after was an ally of Chase's. One other thing he also wanted to mention: "And is it just me…or does she look a bit like me?"

Bren was quick to make a ridiculous suggestion: "Maybe she's some sort of clone gone wrong?"

Chase gave his friend a look that said _"Seriously?!"_ while Jinja smacked him before saying, "Bren, at least _try_ to be reasonable!" A pause. "Oh wait; I forgot who I was talking to." Bren mumbled a few things under his breath. "Not to mention," Jinja added, "She has _amber_ eyes, and she said she has a mom."

"True," Bren muttered.

Chase then went back towards Lyra. "Sorry about that," he said. "Now…_why_ does who your mom is have to do with those guys trying to kidnap you?"

"One, they _did _kidnap me—I managed to get away for a bit, and two…" She seemed hesitant before saying, "Whoever hired those guys probably just wanted to get at my mom for some reason I don't know, since…well, she's sorta in charge of STORM."


End file.
